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Phillips starts a day after colliding with Choo

5/5/13: Brandon Phillips and Shin-Soo Choo collide chasing Alfonso Soriano's pop up in shallow center field in the bottom of the fifth

By Mark Sheldon
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MLB.com |

CINCINNATI -- One day after reporting he had trouble seeing following an outfield collision at Wrigley Field, second baseman Brandon Phillips was back in the starting lineup Monday vs. the Braves.

In the fifth inning vs. the Cubs on a Alfonso Soriano popup, Phillips and center fielder Shin-Soo Choo came together. Phillips hit the ground hard while Choo was struck in the face by the ball. Both players were down on the ground and examined by the trainers before continuing in the game. In the eighth inning, manager Dusty Baker came on the field to remove Phillips when he heard he had vision issues.

Baker and Phillips both said Sunday they expected him to start on Monday. Baker never considered an alternative and made out his lineup without consulting with Phillips.

"I put him in the lineup, and if he was hurt, he would have come to me or the trainers would have come to me," Baker said. "It looked like Choo got the worst of it to me. Both of them are hurting. Brandon banged his head and Choo got hit on the mouth."

Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Mark My Word, and follow him on Twitter @m_sheldon. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.